Black and white

12:00AM GMT 17 Jan 2001

SIR - I refer to Chapman Pincher's letter (Jan 11) "Camera colours" about the dominance of black people in television reports, asking if this follows instructions.

When my brother worked in the Department of Education in the 1970s, it sent a letter to every school in the country notifying them that, in every school photograph, immigrant children (even if there was only one) had to be placed centrally in the front. This was to ensure that the public accepted immigrants as a normal part of their daily life.

The fact that it gave the impression of dominance over the surrounding white children was of no consequence.